


Christmas Is Where The Spirit Is, Leonard.

by BothWonderful_AndStrange



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas songs, I've overdosed on Christmas songs, M/M, also i love me a grinch, and this happened, i wanted to get a starfleet OC out there, possible OOC at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 07:37:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13185381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BothWonderful_AndStrange/pseuds/BothWonderful_AndStrange
Summary: An engineering experiment goes awry and blows out the entire medbay! Ensign Holberg is assigned to fix it, and it takes a long while where we can assume there was much banter and occasional flirting until it culminates with this.





	Christmas Is Where The Spirit Is, Leonard.

“Could you stop that?”

“Stop what?”

“The humming.”

“Oh, sure thing.”

“Thanks.”

Cal was humming ‘Have a Holly Jolly Christmas’ as he worked on the console in the medbay, it had been playing up for months and, to be quite honest, he wasn’t surprised. McCoy’s feet disappeared from view and he started humming again, tapping a foot to keep his rhythm.

He heard a weary sigh, felt a light pressure over his toes.

“How about you tell me what you’re doing under there?”

“These consoles weren’t really designed for constant use… so parts are wearin’ out.” He explained, then reached aside for a screwdriver. “Hand me that, please?”

“Sure.”

McCoy bends to pick up the tool and crouches to pass it to Cal laid on the floor in the foot well, he paused to look at the Doctor as he grabbed it.

“Y’ever heard of ‘sleep mode’ Doc – oh – thank you.”

“No problem. Is this it, you won’t need to come back again?”

“Aw, and here I thought you just liked my company.” He screwed the panel back on the bottom of the console and shuffled out from under the desk, he sat up with a grunt and began to pack his tools away. “Don’t worry, after I replace the last few parts, you’ll be good for a while.”

McCoy offered a hand to help Cal to his feet, the techie fired up the console again, McCoy stood beside him and watched, making an annoyed sound as the younger man began to hum once more.

“There was no one else available, huh?”

“What?” He looked from the screen, confused. “Why?”

“Someone maybe a little less festive.”

Cal smirked and looked back at the screen, punching in commands as he spoke.

“Oh, I’m sorry Doc but The Grinch ain’t enrolled in Starfleet.”

Bones actually laughed at that, he smirked and Cal straightened up and stood to one side, indicating to the console screen, Bones tested it, it seemed perfect.

“What did you do?”

“Uh, it’s basically runnin' in a low-priority mode, only the things you use will run fast, until then, it’s like it ain't even on, it should be fine as long as there’re no big emergencies.”

Bones had a worried look, Cal held his hands up in reassurance.

“It’ll be fine, Doc. I’ll be back tomorrow night once I’ve got the parts.”

~

_“I hear those sleigh-bells jingle-ing, ring-ting-tingle-ing too.”_

“Want me to check you for tinnitus?”

McCoy spoke as he entered the medbay, startling the techie so hard he jumped up and hit his head off the underside of the console. It made a terrific clanging noise and Cal swore, wriggling out from under the desk, with his hands over his forehead.

Bones apologises as he jogs across the room and crouches to help the techie to sit upright. “Let me look at that...”

“Is it bad?”

“Just a scrape, won’t even leave a scar.” Bones said with his usual medical calm, he stands and crosses the room to fetch a cold pack and places on the bump. “So we get lyrics tonight?”

“I didn’t know you were there.” Cal explained, blushing slightly as Bones helps him to get up and sit in the nearby desk chair.

Bones produced a tri-corder and checks him over. “No concussion, y’know you’d’ve heard the door if you weren’t singing so loud.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t’ve been havin’ as much fun.”

“Well I’m gonna suggest you don’t continue singing, it’ll end up with a headache.”

“But you said there’s no concussion.”

“I meant me, I’ll end up with a headache.”

Bones smirked and the techie laughed and dropped the icepack into Bones’ hand, he slipped back under the desk and continued to work on the console as McCoy continued to work within the medbay, pottering about with different PADDs and making sure the hypo-sprays were full.

_“C’mon it’s lovely weather for a sleigh-ride together with you...”_

“How’s it going, anyway?” Bones asked as he sat at his desk once more, purposefully nudging Cal to silence with his foot, he really needed the console working if he was to get anything substantial done, but during the day it had been slow, annoyingly slow and he didn’t have the patience for it.

“I’ve replaced the fans, still need to get my hands on a couple of new do-dads...”

“Is that a technical term?”

Cal chuckled and Bones leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees to look at the bared insides of the console, it looked like a mess to him, but the younger man seemed to know what he was doing, and after a moment, he began to tap his foot again.

“Please don’t.”

“What have you got against singin’, Doc?”

“It’s not the singing, it’s _what_ you’re singing.” Bones griped, sighing and lounging back in his chair. “There’s no Christmas in space, kid.”

He hears the activity under the table pause, he raises his head to meet the sceptical look from under the desk.

“Christmas is where the spirit is, _Leonard_.”

He raised his eyebrows and nudged the techie again, a little firmer this time. “Take that tone with me again, kid, and you’ll be celebratin’ Christmas with my foot up your ass.”

Cal smirked and continued his work on the console.

_“Our cheeks are nice ‘n’ rosy ‘n’ comfy cosy are we...”_

“Now you’re just tryin’ to piss me off.”

Cal chuckled and Bones smirked, he honestly wasn’t that annoyed, the kid had been in and out for the past six months fixing all the little things that had gone wrong, McCoy could even say he’d grown fond of the techie.

An ensign with a burn to the hand came in, breaking Bones from his thoughts, she sat on the medtable and had her hand examined and healed, and Bones left her a moment to get a PADD to file a report.

_“We’re snuggled up together like two birds of a feather should be...”_

She suddenly notices Cal under the console and smirks, Bones nudges the techie with his heel as he returned to the ensign to fill the report.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding?” She asked as Bones fills out the medical jargon.

“Yeap.” Cal replies, wiggling out form under the desk to find a spark-welder. “He’s got me workin' like a dog.”

“About time someone did.” Bones says, inciting a chuckle from the ensign as he passes the PADD to her. “The usual, please.”

“Yes sir.”

He waits, and unintentionally watches as Cal stretched, rolling aches out of his arms and shoulders before all-fouring it and crawling under the console once more. He realises he was too attentive when the ensign prodded him with the corner of the PADD to get his attention.

“Oh, all done? Thanks.” He tried to control his embarrassment. “I’d suggest you get some rest too, just to avoid lapses in judgement like that again.”

“Thanks, Doctor McCoy.” She said as she made her way out. “Merry Christmas, Doc. Merry Christmas, Berg.”

“Me’y ciffmaff.” Cal says under the desk. Bones says nothing and she leaves.

“Berg, is it?”

“Eh.” Cal says, shuffling out one last time. “To everyone else, yeah.”

Bones regarded him with a frown, the techie was suddenly very intent in cleaning up his tools, his colour deepening a little at the height of his cheeks.

“So where does Cal come from?”

“Uh.” He zipped up the tool bag and stood, he was blushing a little, sheepish all of a sudden. “Calvin. My _first_ name.”

It was odd for Bones to see such a lapse in confidence in Cal, to seem so unsure of himself. It was interesting to say the least, but Bones knew not to push an uncomfortable subject matter.

“So, one last part?”

“Two.” Cal said, relieved. “Two more and then I’m out of your hair.”

He picked up his kit bag and slung it over his shoulder, Bones clapped him on the shoulder and walked him out of the medbay.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Definitely.” Cal paused before turning back to face the Doctor. “Merry Christmas, Leonard.”

Bones opened his mouth to say something dismissive, but with Cal’s soft expression, he couldn’t bring himself to, he just nodded and clapped him on the shoulder again.

“Yeah, Merry Christmas Cal.”

~

Bones could hear Cal at least a minute before he entered the medbay as he was quite exuberantly singing ‘Baby, it’s cold outside’ as he walked along the corridor. He even heard his last patient join in as she walked past him, another burn, it seemed an epidemic among the ensigns.

_“Ah but it’s cold outside!”_

Cal sung exuberantly as he entered the medbay, high in spirits.

“Of course it’s cold outside, it’s deep space.” Bones muttered, only glancing up from his medical journal.

Cal laughed and dropped his bag by the second-to-last console, he shut it down but then stood and slipped out of his jumpsuit, rolling it around his waist before setting to work.

“You do know that song, traditionally, is a duet?” Bones groused as he put the PADD down, he couldn’t concentrate on it at all.

“You’re right! How about it, Doc, you and me?” Cal chuckled. “You can be the grump that wants to go home and I’ll -”

“You’ll get that fool idea out of your head before I smack it out.”

Bones spoke with more hostility than he intended and immediately felt bad for the stunned silence that followed, broken only by the gentle tinkering sounds he grown used to hearing.

“Sorry.”

“It’s ok.” Cal said softly, quieter still under the console. “I’ll stop.”

Bones sighed and committed himself to reading the medical journal before they check in with Starfleet next week, he had to catch up. He made a noise of exasperation as he fired up the PADD and it hadn’t saved his place from before.

“Rough night?” He heard.

“You could say that.” He said.

“Coffee?”

A moment then. “Please.”

Cal seemed to appear over the edge of the desk like a tan-and-freckled puppy with the dumbest grin on his face, which Bones couldn’t help but smirk at. He produced two tin mugs and filled them both from a flask with hot, black as void, coffee.

“Thanks, Cal.”

“No problem. I’m gonna be a little longer than I thought, that console is – uh- burned, on the inside…”

“Shit...”

“Yeah… I’ve got everythin’ I need, but replacin’ all the wires’ll take a while.”

“That’s fine, just one thing -”

Cal smiled. “I won’t be singin'.”

“Thanks.” Bones took a sip of the coffee, smiled and nodded his thanks again as Cal returned to the console and Bones returned to his reading.

Cal chuckled and for a while there was silence apart from the soft tinkering sounds and a muttered grumble from the techie and no singing at all. Bones stretched out with his ankles crossed, he lounged out and rested his PADD on his belt, it wasn’t long before he was drifting off into a soft snooze.

He was startled awake, leaping back from a touch at his arm with a yelp.

“Woah, sorry Doc.”

“Cal, my God, I’m sorry I -” Bones blushed a little. “I forgot you were there.”

Cal had left the console and crouched by McCoy’s side, he watched a little too long as the Doctor rubbed at his eyes.

“You didn’t have to stay up y’know...” Cal said as he stood, resting a caring hand on Leonard’s shoulder. “C’mon, I’ll walk you to your quarters.”

“Are you finished?”

“One last part to replace, Scotty’s sortin’ that out for me tomorrow.”

“Alright...”

Bones clapped his hand over Cal’s then stood, a small smile on his face before he yawned and stretched, waiting for Cal to pick up his bag before leading out of the medbay. They were quiet as they walked through the dim corridors, there were hints of festive cheer adorning most of the crews’ doors.

He wasn’t surprised to find Bones’ bare.

“Doctor McCoy.”

The sheepish tone made Bones arch an eyebrow, stopping in the open door and leaning against the doorframe, mostly out of tiredness. “Yeah?”

“D’you maybe wanna get a drink with me tomorrow, once I’ve finished that work?”

“C’mon kid.” Bones groaned, rolling his eyes. “I ain’t into the Christmas thing, alright?”

“I don’t mean -”

Bones shakes his head and raises a hand to shush him, then turned and closed his quarter doors behind him.

~

“Where’s the kid?” Bones asked once he’d returned to the medbay, and instead of Cal there was Scotty among all the wires.

“Took the night, it’s Christmas Eve after all.”

Bones frowned, he was beginning to look forward to seeing Cal again, he’d even began to guess which classic Christmas jingle the kid would sing while he worked. It did kind of cheer him up.

“I guess there’s a party on, huh?”

“There is.” Scotty grunted as he ducked out from under the desk, and fired up the console again. “But he turned down an invite.”

“What?”

“Didn’t feel like it I guess, seemed a bit low this morning if you ask me.” He and tapped a few instructions. “That’s you all ready, then, Doctor.”

“Thanks, Scotty.”

"Will we be seeing you, at the bridge?" Scotty makes a drinking motion, but Bones shakes his head. "Alright then, Merry Christmas, then."

“Yeah… Merry Christmas.”

Bones tried out the fixed console but found he couldn’t concentrate, Cal was a decent, hard-working kid, with cheer enough for the entire ship when it was necessary and even when it wasn’t. He must’ve upset him a lot last night.

“God damn it.” He scolded himself and charged out of the medbay, sending well-wishers scattering as he stormed down the halls, he paused when he realised he didn’t know where Cal’s quarters were, so he went to the Bridge.

“Hey Bones!” Kirk said, already quite merry. “Didn’t think you-”

“Get the comms on, all of them, locate ensign Holberg.”

The computer bleeped in compliance while Kirk and the others on the Bridge looked on in confusion.

 

  
“Ensign Holberg, come in.”

Cal was in his quarters and sat up at the sound of Bones’ quite frenetic voice, he tapped his badge. “Holberg here.”

There was a moment of atmosphere, he could hear the Captain’s questioning voice in the background and an insistent ‘shhh’ from someone else, then it started softly, the uncertain voice wavering a little over the comm.

_“Greeting cards have all been sent, the Christmas rush is through,_  
_But I still have one wish to make, a special one for you...”_

Cal smiled and pulled on some clothes, as he left his quarters, every crew member in the halls had stopped to listen to the simple song.

_“Merry Christmas, darlin’, We're apart, that's true_  
_But I can dream and in my dreams, I'm Christmasing with you...”_

He received a smirk from an Ensign and he headed toward the bridge, he was half-sure this was a dream, and that when he reached the bridge he’d wake up.

_“The logs on the fire, Fill me with desire_  
_To see you and to say...”_

The bridge doors opened and he stood, a little surprised at the amount of people already there, Bones turning to face him, arms open, imploring forgiveness.

_“That I wish you Merry Christmas, Happy New Year too_  
_I've just one wish on this Christmas Eve_  
_I wish I were with you...”_

The silence once Bones had finished was palpable.

“Merry Christmas darlin’.”

Cal took quick steps until he was in Bones’ arms, pressing an earnest kiss to the doctor’s lips while the entire room erupted into cheers.


End file.
